FIFA Reform Plan Requires Culture Change to Work

Sam Rubenfeld, 12/7/15

A governance reform plan approved last week by the world soccer organization FIFA looks good on paper but the body’s culture needs to radically improve for the changes to have any effect, experts said.

Amid a new round of U.S. arrests and indictments, FIFA’s executive committee unanimously approved changes to its corporate governance, including increased representation of women, term limits, integrity checks, the separation of administrative and “political” tasks, and the appointment of a chief compliance officer. “These reforms are moving FIFA towards improved governance, greater transparency and more accountability,” said Issa Hayatou, FIFA’s acting president.

Experts said to Risk & Compliance Journal that the changes, which still need to be approved by the full FIFA Congress in February before they go into effect, represent necessary structural reforms, but the culture needs to shift for them to mean anything.